Technical Field
This invention relates to a slip ring transducer and its components, including a slip ring assembly, a slip ring shaft, an insulating body and a slip ring. This invention also relates to a wind turbine equipped with a slip ring transducer.
Description of the Related Art
Wind turbine slip ring transducers are generally known. They normally transmit electrical signals from the nacelle of a wind turbine to the aerodynamic rotor of the wind turbine, which, during operation, rotates relative to the nacelle or to the remainder of the nacelle. This involves the transmission of both large quantities of power required, e.g., for actuators or heating and data such as control signals or test signals. This type of wind turbine is illustrated in FIG. 1.
Standard slip ring transducers are constructed so that every signal being transmitted, i.e., data or power signals, uses appropriate cabling. Cables are therefore electrically connected to at least one electrically conductive slip ring, in order to transmit the relevant electrical signal to a brush rubbing on the corresponding slip ring. Brushes therefore form part of the slip ring transducer, which rotates, possibly in an opposite direction, relative to another section of the slip ring transducer supporting the slip ring.
A variety of techniques are known for slip rings and corresponding brushes, such as the use of a carbon brush where a type of carbon block rubs on the slip ring. Another variation involves a gold wire technique, which uses gold-coated cable ends that rub a slip ring. Likewise, a technique called multi-brush is known, which is also called a “multi-wire rubber”, where the brushes rubbing the slip ring have multiple fine wires which lie and rub slightly sideways on the slip ring.
Said cables, which are connected to the slip rings, are fed into a hollow shaft on which the slip rings sit. Each cable is connected to its respective slip ring from the interior of this hollow shaft outwards. For this purpose, they are fed through the jacket of the hollow shaft in an insulated manner and make contact with the slip ring. Slip rings are also electrically insulated from one another and therefore are also electrically insulated from the hollow shaft. Care is taken that every slip ring sits firmly on the hollow shaft and rotates with it.
The size, i.e., specifically the axial dimensions of each slip ring, depends on its purpose, such as the type of signal and the amount of power it is designed to transmit. Accordingly, these slip rings, the supply lines and the electrical connection to each application must be adjusted individually. The same applies to the hollow shaft, which is designed to be long enough to hold all of the required slip rings.
The disadvantage of such known slip ring transducers therefore includes the fact that they must be redesigned for every new application. This leads to higher development expenditure with correspondingly higher costs, and also leads to additional expenditure for testing and field testing the slip ring transducers. Each element, which must be individually developed and manufactured, may introduce durability problems and every new development is untested at first regarding the durability of the new element.
The German Patent and Trademark Office has researched the following prior art in the priority application for this application: DE 201 16 756 U1, DE 29 800 281 U1, DE 20 58 343 A, U.S. Pat. No. 3,686,514 A, EP 2 019 460 A2, WO 96/14 678 A1, WO 2008/042 183 A2 and JP H06-132 058 A.